Queen urges nation to show strength in face of ‘challenge’

THE Queen urged Britain to prove that this generation is “as strong as any” in her address to the nation last night, amid fears the current warm weather will see people flout the coronavirus social distancing rules.

In a televised message, the head of state recognised the pain felt by many families living through this “time of disruption”.

She personally thanked front-line NHS staff, care workers and others carrying out essential roles for their efforts.

The speech came as the total number of confirmed deaths of people who tested positive for coronavirus in hospitals in England had risen to 4,494, NHS England said, up by 555 on the previous day’s update.

The patients were aged between 33 years and 103 years old, with 29 of the 555, aged between 35 and 95 years old, having no known underlying health condition.

The Queen said: “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge.

“And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.

“That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet, good-humoured resolve and of fellow feeling still characterise this country.”

She acknowledged the “grief” some have experienced, the “financial difficulties” many face, and the “enormous changes” the country is enduring, after almost two weeks of lockdown to tackle Covid-19.

With hundreds of thousands answering the call for NHS volunteers and others supporting vulnerable people in their communities, the monarch said she hoped in the future everyone would be able to feel “pride” in how they rose to the challenge.

Commenting on the difficulties facing the nation, the Queen, 93, said: “I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. A time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.”

In reference to the warm weather, the Queen thanked those who are following the official guidance to stay at home to protect the vulnerable.

The televised address was a rare event, with the head of state only making three previous appearances during troubled times.

Speeches were broadcast after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002, ahead of Diana, Princess of Wales’s funeral in 1997, and about the first Gulf War in 1991.

It was recorded at Windsor Castle under special circumstances after specific advice from the Medical Household was sought, and followed, to mitigate any risk to the Queen and others.

The castle’s White Drawing Room was specifically chosen so an appropriate distance could be maintained between the Queen and the other occupant – a cameraman wearing personal protective equipment.

The Queen has been staying at her Berkshire home of Windsor Castle with the Duke of Edinburgh since March 19.